For the U.S., Kerry is to sign the agreement Friday and then President Obama will ratify it before he leaves office in December, a senior U.S. official told CBS News in a conference call this week.
Time Frame. The average dolphin species can stay underwater for as long as eight to 10 minutes; some can remain submerged while holding their breath for 15 minutes. Dolphins breathe through their blowhole, which has a muscular flap that covers it when they go under water, keeping water out of their lungs. Size.
Diving mammals will slow their heart rate, stop their breathing, and shunt blood flow from their extremities to the brain, heart, and muscles when starting a dive. But champion divers, such as elephant seals, can hold their breath for about two hours. It was known that they rely on internal oxygen stores when they're down there, said Michael Berenbrink, a zoologist at the University of Liverpool, England, who specializes in how animals function.